Reviewed by USGSEcuador111y ago
M6.8 earthquake 13 km N of Muisne, Ecuador
Friday, June 30, 1916, 03:00:27 UTC · 0.733°N, 80.013°W
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck 13 km N of Muisne, Ecuador on Friday, June 30, 1916, 03:00:27 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M8.8 on January 31, 1906.
- Magnitude
- 6.8
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
201 kilotons of TNT
That is about 13 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 422 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
71 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and North Andes plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
15 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 4 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.81906 Ecuador-Colombia EarthquakeJanuary 31, 1906 · 76 km E of this epicenter
- 6.667 km NNW of Esmeraldas, EcuadorJune 1, 1907 · 85 km N of this epicenter
- 6.5197 km NW of Manta, EcuadorNovember 18, 1914 · 220 km W of this epicenter
- 6.537 km SSW of La Tola, ColombiaJune 5, 1907 · 241 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 11 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 72,000 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1868M7.7
Guayaquil,Ibarra; Colombia: San Pablo
16 Aug 1868 · 209 km away · intensity X
70,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1906M8.8
Off Coast
31 Jan 1906 · 76 km away · intensity IX
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1757M7.0
Cotopaxi,Tungurahua, Latacunga
22 Feb 1757 · 240 km away · intensity IX
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1868M8.0
El Angel, Concepcion
15 Aug 1868 · 255 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1755M7.0
Pichincha, Quito
26 Apr 1755 · 198 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1859
Pichincha
22 Mar 1859 · 204 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.